I Think Of You
by MunkimaCL
Summary: *completed* 500 years have passed. Sesshoumaru's daughter, Takara, lives in modern times, and comes face to face with her father's murderer. Now she must avenge Sesshoumaru's death, while working out her own feelings about humans.
1. A Familiar Scent

A/N – When I started writing this I had no ending in mind.  I just kinda wrote and wrote and wrote until an ending appeared.  Sorry if it seems a bit wordy in places; I seem to have a problem with using too much dialogue.  Well, all that said – enjoy! I THINK OF YOU Prologue 

Fifteen years after the defeat of Naraku, Lord Sesshoumaru took Rin, his female human companion, to be his mate.  Through her he fathered a hanyou [half-breed] named Inuyoshi, a child the Lord of the Western Lands never liked.  After the death of Rin, Inuyoshi left his father, and Sesshoumaru lived alone for one hundred and fifty years.  Knowing it was his duty to continue his father's bloodline without the disgrace of human blood, he took a great inu [dog] taiyoukai [great youkai – monster/demon] named Mio as his second mate, though he never loved her.  Through Mio, he fathered Takara, a beautiful taiyoukai.  Takara was loved greatly by her father, for she reminded him of Rin.  She received not only his protection, but his training as well.

When Takara was fifty years old, Sesshoumaru was killed by a youkai even greater than he.  Michiomaru, a great daija [snake] youkai, had the power to steal the essence of every youkai he defeated, and upon the death of Sesshoumaru, he absorbed the inu youkai's essence and with it his powers.  Furious, Takara sealed Michiomaru in a cave where he would spend the next two hundred and twenty five years in a death-like sleep.  But when a human accidentally stumbled across his resting place, he was awakened…

Chapter One A Familiar Scent 

Takara exited the forest and began walking down the sidewalk, her school uniform ruffling in the breeze.  She didn't have to attend school; after all, she was nearly three hundred years old.  But she found a sort of peace in it, and with her power to change her outer appearance, no one knew she wasn't a seventeen-year-old human.  She used the power to hide her youkai markings, and to turn her long gold-streaked white hair into black.  Her gold eyes were dark brown, and her claws were ordinary nails.  The only people who knew what she really was, a youkai, were other youkai who could sense her youki [aura].  Even this she managed to dim, so other youkai thought her to be an ordinary youkai instead of the taiyoukai she really was.

As she approached the school, a girl with a long ponytail ran up to her, smiling.

"Takara-chan!" she exclaimed as she got close.  Takara smiled.

"Good morning, Miyo-chan," she replied.  Her friend fell in step beside her, her head coming just up to Takara's chin.  Miyo was a little shorter than the average girl, and it didn't help any that Takara was nearly as tall as her father had been.

"Makoto-kun came to my house yesterday," Miyo said somewhat dreamily, a silly smile on her face as she remembered the visit.  "He met my mother, and I think she really likes him."

"So when are you going to let me tell him?" Takara asked.

Miyo's eyes widened in alarm. "You wouldn't!"

Takara laughed softly.  "You know I wouldn't without your permission.  But you must let him know soon.  You never know, he may feel the same way."

"But what if he doesn't?" Miyo's face fell, worry etched in her features.  Her emotions changed every few seconds, a rather alarming sight if you had never spoken to her before.  But she had been Takara's friend ever since she began attending this school, so the youkai felt she understood her well.  Being able to smell her emotions helped a lot too.

"Miyo-chan, Miyo-chan," Takara said, amused.  "You will never see, will you?  Makoto-kun does like you, he's just too shy to admit it.  I'm sure if he was given the chance, he'd tell you."

Miyo sighed. "I hope you're right, Takara.  But oh, I get too nervous when I try to tell him!  It's funny, because when the three of us are together and we're just having fun, I feel like I can tell him anything, but the moment we're alone and I start thinking about it, my voice just dies."

"Well, don't let it die just yet.  Here he comes."

Miyo looked up to see a handsome boy with short, slightly disheveled hair, and bright, mischievous eyes walking towards them, a happy smile on his face.  He was eighteen years old, and completed their little threesome.

"Takara, Miyo-chan!" he exclaimed as they approached.

"Hello, Makoto-kun," Takara responded cheerily.  Miyo and Makoto exchanged sweet smiles, and Takara held back a laugh.  The two of them really were impossible.  Both of them liked the other, but neither knew it, and both were too shy to say anything.  Miyo had at least confided in Takara, but Makoto told no one, though his crush was obvious to Takara.  He always held the door for Miyo and treated her like a lady, saving special smiles just for her.

"Ready for that math test?" he asked, a sparkle in his eye.

"Of course," Takara replied.  After all her years, it was difficult to pretend she didn't know everything her classes taught; she aced every test, and was one of the top students in the school.

"Ugh, I will never pass that stupid class!" Miyo groaned.  "All the numbers confuse me!"

"Everything confuses you," Makoto teased.  She playfully slapped his shoulder. A moment later the bell rang, and the three of them hurried to their classes.

*          *          *

Walking down the streets of Tokyo with her friends after school, Takara had an eerie feeling that wouldn't go away.  Her keen nose had caught a faint youkai smell a while back upon leaving the school, and while she normally wouldn't worry, this smell was hauntingly familiar to her.  While Miyo and Makoto laughed and chatted about different things, Takara fell behind them, determined to pinpoint the smell and exactly from where she knew it.

"Come on, Takara-chan," Miyo said over her shoulder.  "You're lagging."

Startled, Takara shook her head.  "Sorry; I'm coming."

But the scent didn't go away, nor did the feeling of recognition.

_What are you?_ She thought, her brow creased slightly.  _And where do I know you from?_


	2. Unhappy Reunion

Chapter Two Unhappy Reunion 

Walking from school the next day, Takara caught the same scent again.  Miyo was talking to her, so she wasn't concentrating on it as much as she should have been.

A man walked by them, and his shoulder hit her, sending her stumbling backwards.  At that moment the scent grew so strong that she nearly gagged.  As the stranger turned and looked at her with cold eyes, her memory suddenly snapped into focus, and with a start, she knew where she'd smelled that before.

~Flashback~ 

Standing across from Sesshoumaru was a tall, dark, daija youkai, his eyes shining as he smiled triumphantly down at the inu youkai before him.

Sesshoumaru knelt on the ground, trying desperately not to collapse, and berating himself for allowing this daija to send him to his knees.  His armor was broken, and blood stained his white kimono – his blood.  He had underestimated this youkai.  Few were powerful enough to stand a chance against the great Sesshoumaru.  This daija, this Michiomaru, was one of them.

Michiomaru suddenly ran towards the inu youkai at a speed even the inu thought was fast, and before Sesshoumaru could react the daija had his hand around the inu's neck.  He lifted him off of the ground, and laughed a horrid, disgusting laugh.

Sesshoumaru's eyes glowed red, and he hissed, before using the little energy he had left to transform into his true form.  The great dog's eyes flashed, and he snapped at Michiomaru with his now gigantic canine teeth.  The youkai leapt out of the way, and then performed his own transformation, turning into a humongous dark green snake with fangs as long as Sesshoumaru's head.  With a burst of amazing speed, Michiomaru had wrapped his body around Sesshoumaru's, and began to crush him.  The inu youkai howled, and then the snake plunged its fangs into the neck of the powerful Lord Sesshoumaru.  The dog's legs collapsed, and with a cry that sent a wave of terror through all who heard it, the youkai lord, Sesshoumaru, died.

The snake unwrapped itself from around the huge dog, and his eyes began to glow with a strange power.  The dog's massive form began to shrink, until soon he was once again in his humanoid form, his eyes staring blankly into nothing.  Michiomaru then returned to his humanoid form, and knelt beside the still youkai.  He lifted Sesshoumaru's head, sank his fangs into his neck, and absorbed Sesshoumaru's essence.

From a high window in the great palace of the Western Lord, Takara's gold eyes burned red at the sight…

_~End Flashback~_

Takara stared at the stranger before her, and hundreds of thoughts went through her mind at once.  There was no way the man before her could have been standing there.  It had to be someone else, some relation of him.  She herself had sealed Michiomaru in his cave; there was no way he could have revived and escaped.  No, this had to be someone else.

But his scent alone was solid proof.  The man before her was someone she had tried very hard to forget about.  He was…

"Michiomaru," she barely whispered.  His sensitive youkai ears heard her perfectly, and a corner of his mouth turned up in a wicked grin.

"I see the spawn of that retched inu lord is still alive," he hissed, stepping closer to her.  She stepped back, and felt Makoto grab her arm.

"Please sir, forgive us for being so careless," Makoto said to the man before them.  "We will be going now."

He turned and began to pull Takara away, when Michiomaru grabbed her shoulder and pulled her up close to him.  Instinctively, she growled, and her eyes narrowed and became their normal gold.  Miyo gasped, and Makoto put a protective arm around her shoulders.

"Do not think, mesuinu [female dog], that you will continue to live a peaceful life," Michiomaru hissed in her ear.  "You deprived me of many years of my life, and I will see to it personally that you join your senpu [deceased father] in hell."

His hand moved from her shoulder to her neck, and she grasped his wrist with one hand.  Controlling her appearance, her claws formed on that one hand, and her hand began to glow green.  She then dug her claws into his wrist and shot poison up his arm.  To her surprise, he laughed.

"Do you think you can harm me with doku [poison] inherited from Sesshoumaru?" he said with a smirk.  "He is in me, as well as his immunity to doku.  You'll have to try again, mesuinu."

"Get out of here, daija," she hissed.  "You may have defeated my father, but you will never defeat me."

"Are you so sure about that, mesuinu?" He seemed amused at her statement.  "Beware of the threats you make; you may have to fulfill them someday."

Her eyes burned hatefully into his, and she spat, "Get out of here, daija."

He didn't say another word, but turned and continued on his way down the street.  Takara slowed her heartbeat, and returned her eyes and hand to the human illusion.  But she couldn't hide the hatred she felt, and she trembled with it as she watched him walk away.

When she finally had control of herself again, she lowered her head and said, "Makoto-kun, Miyo-chan, come.  I have much to tell you."


	3. Takara's Story

Chapter Three Takara's Story 

The three of them sat in Takara's living room.  Makoto and Miyo had never seen Takara's house before; it was a cabin deep in the forest, and she had never allowed anyone to know where she lived.  Now they sat beside one another, and Takara could smell their fear.  She couldn't blame them.  They had just witnessed their friend, their schoolmate, poison someone with claws that weren't normally there.

Takara sat before them after changing her clothes into something more modest.  The shortness of her uniform's skirt always made her uncomfortable; after all, she was born in an era when everyone kept his or her body almost completely covered.  She now wore a long black skirt and a large shirt with three quarter sleeves.  She knelt in front of them, and sighed.

"I'm sorry you had to see what happened out there," she told them.  Miyo looked up at her with big, frightened eyes.

"Who was that, Takara-chan?" she asked, her voice barely working.

"I will tell you everything.  You must not be afraid; I am going to show you something that no one has seen in over a hundred years."

Takara closed her eyes.  Suddenly, she began to glow.  Miyo gasped and fell into Makoto, who held her protectively as Takara changed.

Her long black hair became white with gold streaks, and her ears swept up into points.  Her hands had claws, and her mouth had fangs.  On her neck appeared two black stripes, one on each side, and a purple crescent moon appeared on her forehead.  She opened her eyes, and they were gold with slitted irises, like a cat, highlighted by red markings on her eyelids.

"I am a youkai," she explained.  "An inu youkai to be precise.  The form you see now is my humanoid form; my true form is that of what ninjen [humans] would call a giant dog.  I was born almost three hundred years ago, when my kind was numerous, and was feared by ninjen.

"I am the daughter of Sesshoumaru, the youkai Lord of the Western Lands.  His otousan [father] was a taiyoukai – a great youkai – and my mother was also a taiyoukai.  Because of this, I am also a taiyoukai, and am much more powerful than any ordinary youkai.  My otousan was one of the greatest youkai lords of our time.  He was undefeatable; the only ones who stood a chance against him were Inuyasha, his younger tanechigai [half brother], my mother, Mio, and a daija youkai known as Michiomaru.

"On his own, Michiomaru was not very great.  But he had the power to steal the essence of any youkai he defeated, and with it, their powers and strengths.  He traveled the land defeated hundreds of youkai and stealing their essence until he was powerful enough to fight otousan.  He wanted to take control of the Western Lands and force my family out of power.  But it would never be.

"Michiomaru challenged otousan in the forest outside of our castle when I was fifty years old.  I watched out of a window as they fought, and when otousan fell to his knees I knew…I knew…"

Takara was breathing hard, tears welling up in her eyes as she remembered the death of her father.  She swallowed.

"Michiomaru murdered my otousan.  He murdered him, and stole his essence, becoming nearly twice as powerful as he had been.  But I…I couldn't let him continue.  He killed my otousan…I couldn't let him kill me as well.  I must live on to keep our bloodline.  I cannot let my family blood fade away.

"My okaasan [mother] had taught me many skills concerning barriers and enchantments.  I lured Michiomaru away from our castle, and fought him.  I was able to trick him into entering a cave in the middle of the forest.  And then, I placed an enchantment on the cave, sealing him in, and placing him in a deep sleep that would last as long as he was uninterrupted.  To make sure no one found him, I placed a barrier around the cave, so no youkai could enter it and accidentally wake him.  And there he has stayed for over two hundred years."

She stopped, staring at the floor and seeing nothing.  Her mind was back two hundred and twenty five years in the past when this had occurred, and she could remember every detail.

A moment passed, and the three of them sat still.  Then, Miyo crept forward, and pulled Takara into a hug.  A moment later, Makoto joined in, and the three of them sat together in a big three-person hug for what felt like a long time.  Finally, Takara pushed away.

"I don't know how he came back," she told them.  "But you must know – as long as you are my friends, and he is alive, you are in danger.  He will not think twice about killing a ninjen, and if he thinks it will get to me, he will do it.  For your safety, I cannot ask you to stay with me."

Makoto gave her a soft smile.  "Takara-chan, I don't know much about this.  But I am you friend, and I will stay by your side."

Miyo nodded in agreement, wiping tears from her eyes.

Takara sighed.  "It will be very dangerous.  I don't know what all he is capable of, but I do know that my otousan is in him, and otousan was very powerful.  I have already seen that my doku will not harm him, for it is the same doku my otousan had, and he now has.

"My home is safe; there is a barrier around it that no youkai can get through.  But outside of my home, Michiomaru can strike anywhere, anytime.  I must be prepared and ready for anything he brings to me."

"And then what will happen?" Miyo asked, her eyes moist from her tears.  Takara looked away, her golden eyes narrowing.

"And then I will kill him…or be killed."


	4. Frightening Experience Enter Tenseiga

Chapter Four Frightening Experience – Enter Tenseiga 

School was not fun the next day.  Takara felt as though every youkai there could see straight through her, despite her hidden youki.  She was nervous knowing that in any fights she had with Michiomaru, she would be on defensive.  She had no way of finding him; the evening before she had gone back to where they had met and attempted to follow his scent, but it had disappeared.

When the school day ended, she quickly left the building and began to head home.  But she was stopped short when Miyo found her hurrying down the sidewalk.

"Where are you going so fast?" Miyo asked teasingly.  Takara didn't look at her.

"Home.  It is not safe here."

"Oh," Miyo looked down, and then looked back up again.  "May I come with you?"

"You know the more you are with me, the more danger you are in."

"Yes, I know.  But I trust you, Takara-chan.  And I want to help in any way I can."

Takara's face softened.  "Alright.  You can come with me.  Where's Makoto-kun?"

"He should be coming soon…" As the words left her mouth the boy came around the corner, running to catch up with them.

"Hey, sorry!" he said, out of breath.  "A teacher delayed me.  Where are we going?"

"To my home," Takara answered.  "I need to prepare."

"Alright, sounds good.  So when are you going to fight this guy?  That is what you're preparing for, isn't it?"

Takara nodded. "I don't know when.  I am on pure defensive right now; I must wait and be ready whenever he chooses to attack."

They entered the forest, and Takara focused her senses, trying to take in everything she could while Miyo and Makoto chatted.  As they approached her home, she suddenly caught an evil scent, and stopped walking.  Her friends turned and looked at her, concerned.

"What is it, Takara-chan?" Makoto asked.

"He is near," she said quietly.  She brought down the human illusion, and stretched her claws, her keen ears listening for any sound that could possibly be a threat.  Miyo and Makoto stood a little ways away, looking in all directions, fear on their faces.

"Get down!" Takara suddenly yelled.  Both humans hit the dirt, and she spun to face the attacking Michiomaru.  He slashed at her with his claws, and she ducked.  Her right hand began to glow green.

"_Dokkasou!"_ she said, and flung poison in his face.  He dodged, and with a speed she wasn't prepared for, ran around to her back.  She immediately spun, and her eyes widened in horror.

Michiomaru grabbed Miyo by her neck and pulled her close to him, smirking at Takara.  Miyo screamed, and Makoto scrambled away.

"Let her go, Michiomaru," Takara hissed.  "She is not part of this."

Michiomaru laughed, and Miyo screamed again, and then fell silent.  He threw her to the ground, and leapt away, saying, as he departed, "In battle, there are no innocents."

Then he was gone, and Takara rushed to Miyo's side.  Her youkai senses told her that she was not breathing, nor was her heart beating.  Michiomaru had broken her neck, killing her instantly.  Takara showed no emotion; her father's training had rushed back to her the moment she had said "_Dokkasou_", and part of his training was no matter what happened, don't let emotion stand in the way of reason.  If anyone who had known Sesshoumaru had seen her then, they would have been amazed at how much she looked like him, her father.  Silently, she lifted her friend into her arms, and stood.  Makoto rushed to her side.

"Miyo-chan!" he cried.  "Miyo-chan!"

Takara closed her eyes, forcing a cold, uncaring look onto her face, and then looked up at him.  "We must hurry."

He gaped at her as she started walking towards her cabin.  "You don't care?!  Miyo-chan is hurt!"

"She is dead," Takara said without turning around.  "If we hurry, she will soon no longer be dead."

Makoto was left speechless at that, and began to follow her.  Soon they could see her cabin, and Takara let him in, Miyo's lifeless body hanging limp in her arms.  Without a word, she headed towards the back of the cabin, and went to a door with an old lock on it.  She retrieved a key from a string around her neck, and the door opened to reveal a flight of stairs heading down into the ground farther than Makoto could see.

They descended without a word, and Makoto soon found himself in a huge room.  It was much larger than the cabin itself, and was too dark to see much of.  Two swords in their sheaths lie on a table, and after gently laying Miyo on the floor, Takara unsheathed one of them.  The metal shined, and as she approached Miyo's body, the sword began to pulse.

"No!" Makoto cried as Takara lifted the sword above her head, and then swung it down, slicing clean through Miyo's stomach.  But then, he noticed something.  Miyo's body was still intact.  Any other sword would have cut the girl cleanly into two pieces.

Takara's ears picked up the sound of popping as Miyo's neck went back into place.  She heard her heartbeat and breathing start back up, and then, to Makoto's great surprise, Miyo opened her eyes.  She blinked, and looked around, confused.  Makoto fell to his knees, suddenly weak.

"Miyo-chan," he whispered.

"What…what happened?" Miyo stuttered.  She sat up off the floor, and her gaze was drawn to the sword Takara held.  The youkai slid the blade back into its sheath, and placed it back next to the other sword.  Then, she turned to her friends.

"I suppose you both believe me now about this being dangerous."


	5. Paintings

Chapter Five Paintings 

"That was amazing," Makoto said, in complete awe.  "I've never seen anything like that before."

"What happened?" Miyo asked.  She looked around.  "And where are we?" Takara looked into her eyes.

"Michiomaru killed you, Miyo," she told her.  "He snapped your neck."

The girl gasped.  "But…but…"

"I brought you to my cabin, and used Tenseiga to restore your life."

Miyo blinked.  "Tenseiga?"

"My otousan's healing sword.  It gives life, and cannot kill.  Otousan left it to me when he died, and it now recognizes me as its master.  Or it at least recognizes otousan's blood in me.  It brought you back to life, and healed your neck."

Miyo placed a shaky hand on her neck.  Makoto stood, and looked around the room, but it was dark and he couldn't see well.  Takara walked back towards the entrance, and lit a lantern.  When she did, the entire room brightened.

Miyo gasped.  There were many dusty old trunks, full of who knows what.  Adorning a wooden mannequin was a dangerous looking piece of armor, with spiked shoulders.  On the far wall hung three paintings, a large one, and a smaller one on each side of it.  Miyo rose to her feet and walked towards the paintings.

The smaller one on the left was the head and shoulders of a beautiful human woman with gentle, loving eyes.  The one on the right was of a dangerous-looking, yet beautiful, youkai woman, with black streaked gold hair, piercing silver eyes, and a black stripe on either side of her neck.

The largest painting was of a very handsome, strong-looking male youkai.  He had long white hair and gold eyes, with two magenta stripes on each cheek, red markings on his eyelids, and a purple crescent moon on his forehead.  His face was blank of any emotion, and he wore a white kimono with what looked like the same armor that was on the wooden mannequin, tied with a yellow and purple sash.  At his left side were the hilts of two swords, and wrapped around his right shoulder was a very soft and fluffy looking furry thing.

Takara stepped up beside her, and Miyo looked at her, and then back at the handsome youkai.  They looked almost identical.  They had the same face shape and eye color, the same marking on their foreheads, and the same style of hair.  The only differences were the gold streaks in her hair, and the black stripes on her neck as opposed to the magenta stripes on his cheeks.  Miyo didn't have to ask to know that this was her father.  The female youkai with the gold and black hair in the smaller painting must have been her mother.

Makoto came to stand behind them, and whistled.

"That is one dangerous looking otousan you have," he commented.  Takara's gaze never left the painting, and she stood a bit taller.

"He was one of the most powerful youkai of that time.  A great lord, as I told you earlier.  No one challenged him and lived."

"Why did he need two swords?" Makoto wondered, noticing their hilts at his side.

"One of them is Tenseiga, the healing sword.  It could not kill, and was therefore useless in a battle.  The other sword is Toukijin, a very powerful sword otousan had made for him so he could defeat his tanechigai [half brother]."

"Tanechigai?" Miyo asked.

"His younger tanechigai, Inuyasha, a hanyou of a youkai and a ninjen.  He possessed a great sword, the Tetsusaiga, which gave him the power to defeat my otousan.  Both the Tetsusaiga and the Tenseiga were made out of my grandfather's fangs for his sons.  My otousan was always angry that Inuyasha got a better sword.  He had Toukijin made so he could beat the Tetsusaiga."

"His otouto [younger brother] sounds neat," Makoto said.  "What was he like?"

"I only met him once.  He was very friendly, and had a ninjen mate.  He looked a lot like otousan, but without the youkai markings.  He is most likely dead by now; a hanyou's life isn't quite as long as a youkai's."

Miyo tore her gaze off of the powerful youkai in the painting, and looked at the picture of the human.  "Who is she?"

"Otousan's first mate, Rin.  I never met her; she had been dead for over a hundred years before I was born.  She is the okaasan of my hanyou tanechigai, Inuyoshi."

Makoto looked surprised.  "You have a tanechigai too?"

"He's over a hundred years older than I am.  He lives deeper in the forest, and doesn't associate with anyone.  He has no charms or powers to change his appearance as I do, so anyone who sees him sees his true form.  He…he doesn't like me very much."

"Why not?" Miyo asked.

"Otousan didn't like him, for the same reason he didn't like Inuyasha.  He's half ninjen, and otousan never liked ninjen, except for Rin.  After she died, Inuyoshi left, and has taken care of himself ever since then.  I've met him a few times, but he's always very cold to me.  As far as otousan was concerned, I was the only child he had."

"But that's not fair!" Miyo said.

"It doesn't matter if it was fair or not.  It was my otousan, and that was who he was."

They fell silent, and the humans began wandering around looking at other things.  Takara stood before the paintings, her eyes fixed on the powerful face of her father.  _He may not have been fair,_ she thought.  _But I will do all I can to be like he was._


	6. A Bully And A DemiYoukai

Chapter Six: A Bully and a Demi-Youkai 

Michiomaru walked the streets of Tokyo, his keen youkai senses searching for someone.  As he rounded a corner, he saw who he was looking for.  What looked like a young man was leaning against a brick wall, watching the people passing by with a glint in his eye.  Michiomaru could smell the fact that he was a youkai, and his eyes caught sight of a charm necklace he wore, disguising his features to look human.

As Michiomaru walked by, he grabbed the young man's arm and pulled him around the corner into an alley.  The young man started to yell at him, but stopped when he saw Michiomaru's face.

"Kentaro," the snake youkai said.  "Take away the ninjen pretense at once.  I don't do deals with ninjen."

Kentaro glared at him, and then removed his necklace.  His hair became white, and his skin became very dark.  His eyes were purple, and he had purple markings on his eyelids.  If he had chosen to have them, large black bat wings would have been mounted from his shoulders, but he kept them hidden.

"How are you here, Michiomaru?" he hissed.  "I thought that inu sealed you up."

"Do you really think that mesuinu could keep me sealed forever?  You are a very foolish koumori [bat], Kentaro.  And you will address me as sama."

Kentaro pursed his lips; he wasn't fond of being called a fool.  But he knew better than to challenge Michiomaru.

"So you live," he said.  "What that supposed to mean to me?"

"It means, Kentaro, that you are under my service again.  Just because I was sealed up for two hundred years doesn't mean you're free.  Remember, you pledged your life to me, and I can do anything I want with it."

Kentaro's purple eyes narrowed, his hatred for Michiomaru obvious.  "What do you want me to do, Michiomaru-sama?" he asked, spitting out the name as if it hurt to say it.  Michiomaru smirked and stepped up close to Kentaro, his green eyes burning into Kentaro's purple ones.

"I want you to seek and destroy the inu taiyoukai known as Takara."

*          *          *

Takara walked through the school halls, trying desperately to focus her mind on something other than Michiomaru.  Her ears caught the sound of a scuffle, and she walked around the corner, curious as to what it was.

Three boys were pushing around a little freshman girl with long black hair, messy bangs, and a hat.  Takara could smell youkai blood in her, but it was very faint.  The girl was mostly human.

One of the boys tripped her, and her hat fell off of her head, revealing dog ears perched at the top of her head behind her bangs.  There was a gasp from everyone who could see her.

"What type of a freak are you?" one of the boys yelled.  He grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her feet, and then pushed her back against the wall.  Takara stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and pulled him away from her, spinning him around to look him in the eye.

"Leave her alone," she hissed.  She allowed her eyes to flash gold for a second, and the boy's eyes got wide.

"Another freak!" he exclaimed.  He started to swing his other arm at her, and with lightening reflexes, she grabbed his wrist.

"Don't make me hurt you," she said.  "Take your friends and get out of here."

His eyes narrowed.  "Why don't you make me, freak?"

She hissed at him, flashing her fangs in his face.  She smelled his fear as he tore his arms from her grasp and ran, his buddies close behind him.  She watched them run, and then turned her attention to the girl in front of her.  She looked terrified, and Takara smiled at her.

"Do not be afraid, demi-youkai [partial youkai]," she said in a whisper only loud enough for the two of them to hear.  "I am like you."

She flashed her eyes gold again, and the girl nearly fainted from relief.

"Arigato [thank you]," she said softly.  Takara looked around at the people who were still watching them.

"Come, let's go somewhere else," she suggested.  The girl picked her hat up off of the ground, and placed it back on her head, covering her dog ears.  Takara led her into the library, and found a vacant table to sit at.

"What is your name?" she asked the girl.

"I am Rei," she replied.  "I just recently started attending this school."

Takara nodded.  "My name is Takara.  You are an inu youkai?"

Rei nodded.  "My grandfather was a hanyou, and his otousan was a pure youkai.  I don't have any charms to alter my appearance.  I wear contacts to change my eye color, and this hat to cover my ears.  I'm not very powerful though."

"There's nothing wrong with being a demi-youkai.  The majority of the world's youkai nowadays are demi because of so much ninjen contact.  I am also an inu youkai, though I have no ninjen blood in me."

Rei's eyes widened in admiration.  "You're pure youkai?"

Takara smiled.  "Yes.  I would be glad to teach you how to use your powers.  Even a demi-youkai has powers, and if you knew how to use them, I think you'd be a bit more confident in yourself."

Her face fell again.  "Oh I couldn't.  I'd feel too bad about hurting anyone."

"You don't have to hurt anyone, Rei-chan.  I didn't hurt the boys who were messing with you.  I just scared them.  Being able to use your youkai powers doesn't mean you go around hurting people and being mean.  It just means you have power that, when the time comes, you can use."

Rei looked down at the table and thought for a few moments.

"Takara?"

"Yes?"

"Teach me."


	7. Rei's Grandfather

Chapter Seven: Rei's Grandfather 

Kentaro stood on a branch of a tree, his dark skin blending in with the shadows of the forest at dusk.  He stood patiently, letting the breeze blow through his short white hair.  A twig snapped, and his ears twitched.

On the forest floor below him, four kitsune [fox] youkai appeared through the trees.  They stopped and waited, and Kentaro dropped lightly to the ground before them.

"Taro, Jiro, Manzo, Shiro," he said.  "You are very punctual."

"You made the urgency of this meeting very clear, Kentaro-sama," the first one said.

"I have a job for you and your otoutos.  My master, Michiomaru, has recently awakened from his two hundred year sleep, and has found the mesuinu who sealed him.  He has made it my job to exterminate her." His eyes sparkled and he smirked.  "And I am making it your job."

"Wait," The kitsune's eyes narrowed.  "Wasn't this girl a taiyoukai?"

"I don't remember that type of detail.  All I know is she was the daughter of Lord Sesshoumaru, and has many of the same powers he had.  I can show you where she lives, and you will expose of her."

Taro, the first one, glanced at his brothers, and then looked back at Kentaro.  "Consider it done, Kentaro-sama."

*          *          *

Takara left her cabin and headed out into the woods, dressed in what was, in her opinion, the most comfortable clothing ever created.  It was old fashioned, and was the style of a miko's clothing, except instead of red and white hers was dark green with black patterns on it.  She didn't bother with the human illusion; she wasn't planning on leaving the forest, and if any human was around, she would smell them long before they saw her.

She and Rei had planned to meet at the edge of the forest.  She had decided it would be best to do the training in the forest around her cabin, for there her barrier would protect them.  But after what had happened to Miyo, Takara didn't want Rei walking through the forest by herself.  At least with her, she could protect her if there was an attack.

When she reached the forest edge, she realized that Rei had not seen her youkai markings, only her human illusion.  She quickly leapt into a branch of a tree, and leaned up against the sturdy trunk, patiently waiting for the girl to arrive.

As she waited, Takara became aware of a scent being blown in the breeze.  She cocked her ears in the direction it came from, but heard nothing.  Cocking an eyebrow, she turned to investigate further when she suddenly heard someone crashing through the brush below her.

Looking down, she saw Rei standing below her, looking very unsure of herself.  Takara glanced one more time in the direction of the smell, before turning her attention to Rei.

"Rei-chan!" she called out.  "Do not be alarmed.  I will come to you."

She then dropped out of the tree and landed beside the girl.  Rei's eyes widened at the sight of the taiyoukai before her.

"Takara-sama?" she wondered.

"I told you I was a true youkai," Takara explained.  "The ninjen appearance you see at school is only an illusion.  You can imagine the chaos that would start if I showed up in public like this."

"I suppose I knew you hid your true appearance," Rei said, her eyes moving from the markings on her face, to her long white and gold hair.  "I just didn't realize how much you hid.  You are very beautiful, Takara-sama."

Takara smiled at the girl. "Come, Rei-chan.  I will take you to my home."

They began to walk, and then a mischievous look glittered in Takara's eyes.  Suddenly, she scooped up Rei in her arms, bent her knees, and then pushed off from the ground, launching herself into the air.

Rei squealed and wrapped her arms tightly around Takara's neck.

"What…what are you doing?!" the girl cried.

"I'm flying," Takara replied, amused.  "You said you wanted to experience youkai powers."

"I didn't know you could do this!"

It was a short flight; soon they had landed at the door of Takara's cabin.  "Come inside," she said.  "I have something for you."

She led the girl into her home, and handed her a box wrapped with pretty ribbon.  Rei opened it, and gasped in surprise.

"Oh Takara-sama…" Inside was an outfit identical in style to the one Takara was currently wearing.  It was sky blue, with white flowers on the edges of the sleeves and shoulders.

"The first think a youkai must do is feel like a youkai," Takara told her.  "It's hard to do that while wearing modern ninjen clothing.  Besides, its easier to move in."

"But Takara-sama…this is too beautiful.  I can't take this."

"Yes, you can.  I insist.  Now go in the back and try it on."

It took some convincing, but Takara finally got Rei to put on the beautiful outfit.  When the girl returned to the living room, she looked like a princess.  The horrid hat and contacts were gone, and for the first time ever Rei felt like what she was – a youkai, or at least a demi-youkai.  Her eyes were the same gold as Takara's, and anyone who had seen them at that moment would have sworn they were related.

They exited the cabin, and Takara showed Rei how far into the forest she could go before she was outside of the barrier.  They had a good amount of forest to train in, and Takara started right away.

"Did you ever see or learn about any of your otousan's attacks?" she asked.  Rei shook her head.

"Otousan never discussed fighting with me.  Though I did see one of my grandfather's attacks once."

"Can you describe it to me?"

Rei's brow creased as she thought for a moment.  "It was like…like he was shooting metal from his claws.  He shouted something when he did it too, but I don't remember the entire thing."

"What do you remember of it?" Takara asked.

"I think it started with Sankon, or something like that.  There was more, but that's all I remember."

Takara looked off in the distance as she thought about this.  _She couldn't possibly mean the Sankon Tetsusou, could she?  But that was Inuyasha's attack.  Surely that can't be it._

But as she thought more about it, more pieces seemed to fall together.  _She said her grandfather was a hanyou.  An inu hanyou, one with a claw attack like the one she described.  But it couldn't be Inuyasha.  Could it?_

"Rei-chan, do you know your grandfather's name?" she asked suddenly.

"No, I don't remember it," Rei said.  "Otousan would know."

"Can you ask him for me when you go home today?"

"Sure, Takara-sama," she gave her a confused look.  "But why?"

_Because if he is who I think he is…_

"Because I'd like to know.  I've been alive for a long time; I might have known him."

"Alright.  So what do I learn first?"

*          *          *

Glittering eyes watched the two girls from a distance.  Specifically watched Takara.  He knew she hadn't sensed him; he had made sure the wind was blowing towards him instead of towards her, so she didn't catch his scent.  Silently, he stepped closer, and raised a clawed hand.


	8. Rei's Lesson and Takara's Power

Chapter Eight: Rei's Lesson – Takara's Power 

Takara leapt backwards with ease and watched as Rei stumbled forward, the momentum of her would-be strike carrying her a bit too far.  The taiyoukai grinned in amusement as the young girl caught herself, then spun clumsily and prepared to attack again, her claws outstretched.

Suddenly, a tornado of blue-green fire rushed straight for them, colliding with Takara's barrier and making the air around them shimmer for a moment.  Rei screamed, and Takara turned narrowed eyes in the direction the fire had come from.

"Stay here, Rei-chan," she commanded, and then walked out of her barrier, her senses focused on a faint scent she had just begun to pick up.

"A kitsune," she muttered to herself.  The words were barely out of her mouth before the youkai attacked, running from the trees with his claws outstretched.

He was a head shorter than her, with medium length red hair tied in a ponytail, as well as a reddish tail that reached to about mid calf.  He was young, probably still a teenager.  He wore loose blue jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and a brown vest.

Takara leapt back, avoiding his claws.  With a lightning quick move she grabbed his face in her hand, and a green cloud of poison began to seep from her claws.

"Ahhh!" The kitsune cried in pain as the poison got in his eyes, and she moved her hand from his face to around his neck.  She then lifted him off of the ground, her face cold and expressionless.

"Who sent you?" she hissed.  The kitsune opened his eyes, blinked, rubbed his eyes, and blinked again.

"I can't see!" he cried.

"I know you can't; I put a small amount of my doku in your eyes.  Now answer me, kitsune."

He continued to blink and squint, a terrified look on his face.  Takara narrowed her eyes further and tightened her grip on his neck, her claws almost piercing his skin.

"You _will_ answer me, kitsune.  And you will do so quickly, before I lose my patience."

He whimpered slightly, holding her wrist with both hands.  For nearly a full minute, no one said a word.

"I see," Takara finally said.  "You are afraid of what your master would do to you if he found out you told me.  Do you not think I could do much worst things to you?"

"You…you won't kill me!"

"Oh I won't?  Don't try to deceive yourself.  I am a full-blooded taiyoukai, daughter of Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands.  I would not hesitate to destroy you if I thought it fitting."

He trembled.  "Please…I can't betray him…"

"What is your name?"

"Um…Shiro."

Takara pulled his face close to hers, and tilted his head to the side.

"Shiro," she hissed in his ear. "You tell your master that he shames himself by sending young kitsunes to fight a taiyoukai in his place.  Do not think I am being compassionate towards you; the only reason I'm letting you live is so you can deliver this message."

She released him, and he fell on his butt at her feet.

"Go," she ordered, and started to walk away.

"But…my eyes…I can't see!"

Takara looked back where Rei was standing, her gold eyes huge after watching the entire exchange.

"Rei-chan," Takara said.  "Go inside and fetch a glass of water."

As if her voice broke a spell, the girl blinked and nodded rapidly, before running inside.  She returned a moment later and handed the glass to Takara.  The taiyoukai then poured the water over the kitsune's eyes.

He blinked a few times, and then his eyes got wide.  "I can see…"

"Go to your master now," Takara ordered.  The kitsune looked up at her icy expression, and then bolted into the forest.  Her already thin eyes narrowed more.

_What game are you playing, Michiomaru?_ She thought, looking into the forest where the boy had gone.  She then turned and walked back towards Rei.

"I think it's time for you to go home, Rei-chan," she told her.  "You've learned enough for the day."

Rei nodded, and they entered the cabin to retrieve her clothes.  She changed, and folded the pretty outfit back up into its box to take home with her.  Takara stood, staring out of a window at the forest as Rei got ready, many thoughts going through her head.  _Am I supposed to just defeat the youkai he sends to me?_ She thought.  _It seems too easy.  I could fight kitsunes all day and not get tired.  Surely he knows my strength._

She escorted Rei to the edge of the forest, and as she turned to go, Rei looked up at her with her now dark eyes.

"Takara-sama?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Would you really have killed him?"

Takara looked away, the cold, expressionless look returning.  It was the look her father had always had.  A completely emotionless look.

"Rei-chan, I am a taiyoukai.  My otousan was a great lord who despised all ninjen.  When he was alive, I spent many hours in training with him, learning how to not allow my emotions affect me, but to simply push away any sympathies and do what needed to be done.  A youkai cannot be afraid to kill."

"But he didn't do any harm."

Takara sighed.  "Rei-chan, I am being hunted right now.  The only way to not be hunted anymore is to dispose of those who are hunting me.  I realize this may not seem right to you; after all, you have grown up in a ninjen society where there are very few real dangers.  But I must do what needs to be done."

Rei looked down at Takara's claws.  She knew the threat they presented, and now, she wondered how many had died by those claws for what Takara said needed to be done.  She looked at the ground, and Takara saw tears welling up in her eyes.  Immediately, her eyes softened, and she hugged the girl in front of her.

"No matter what happens, I will protect you, Rei-chan," she promised.  "You have my word."

Rei nodded, and then walked towards the city.  Takara watched her retreating form, closed her eyes, and sighed.

_Already, she is beginning to doubt me._  She thought.  _She is too ninjen.  Her youkai blood is quenched by ninjen morals and ideas.  But she will never fully fit in with the mortals either._

She turned and started to walk back to her cabin.  _I will teach her.  Not only to fight, but how to be a youkai._


	9. Rest and Contemplation

Chapter Nine: Rest and Contemplation 

The next morning as she began walking to school, Takara was attacked by twin kitsunes at the same time.  They came at her from opposite directions, and when they got close she simply leapt into the air and watched as they collided into each other.  She then gave them the same message she had given her first attacker – Let your master fight me, or let me not fight anyone.

She didn't attend school that day, for fear that an attack would while she was around the humans.  She didn't fear the attackers; so far they had been very disappointing.  But she didn't want any mortals getting in the way.

That night, she got on the roof of her cabin, dressed in her Feudal Era clothes.  She sat cross-legged with her arms crossed in her sleeves, and looked up at the moon above her.  It was just a sliver, a crescent.  Her heart ached at the sight of it, for it reminded her of her father.

_What would you do in my situation?_ She asked him in her mind.  But she knew.  Sesshoumaru wouldn't bother with weak kitsunes; he would have challenged Michiomaru the moment he saw him.  He wouldn't have cared about the humans that had been around; they were only mortals, and the great Sesshoumaru cared nothing for them.  Humans were nothing to him.

No, that wasn't true.  Rin had been something to him.  He had loved her.  She had been the only human who was allowed to be with him extended amounts of time.  She was the only creature alive who had been allowed to touch him, and when she had grown old enough, he had taken her to be his mate.  Takara had never met Rin; by the time she was born, the human had been dead for over a hundred years.  But even while Sesshoumaru allowed Takara's mother to live with them, he always found himself thinking about the beautiful human girl who had helped him find his heart.

Looking at the moon, Takara could almost see him in it staring back at her.  She was the only one he would look at without the cold, expressionless face.  Very few had the pleasure of seeing him smile, and she had been one of them.

~I miss you, otousan.  If you were here, this would not have happened.  Michiomaru would have died a long time ago.  How did he have the strength to kill you?~

But she knew the answer to that too.  For reasons unknown to her, Sesshoumaru had left Tenseiga behind when he had left the castle and was challenged by Michiomaru.  She had never seen him without it outside of his living quarters, and to that day she didn't understand why he would have left his powerful sword, his healing sword, behind.  If he'd had it, Tenseiga could have given him life when he grew weak.  But instead, he was killed, and Takara always wondered how it would have played out if he'd had his healing sword with him.

~Tenseiga is mine now.  But does it truly recognize me as its master?  If my life were endangered, would it come to life, or would it remain dormant?~

She looked down into the forest, the moonlight casting eerie shadows on the ground.  She knew one thing – ever since Michiomaru had returned, she had been feeling more and more like her old self, the way she had been when Sesshoumaru had lived.  She remembered his training, and when she fought she could feel his coldness come over her.  He would be furious if he knew how she associated with humans.  But that wasn't her fault, was it?  In the day and age she now lived in, humans reigned, and the remaining youkai were forced to conceal themselves.  Certainly it wasn't her fault that she associated with humans.

And yet, despite that thought, it was when the cold, ruthless feeling came over her that she felt the most like a youkai.  It was when she was fighting, when blood was dripping down her claws, that she truly felt like herself.  But she couldn't leave her human companions, could she?  Leave Miyo and Makoto, and all the others she had grown to know?  For what?  For the chance to become her father?

~Help me, otousan.  I want to do what you would have done, yet I feel myself turning colder and colder with each day that passes.  I have grown soft living with ninjen for so long.  You would have never allowed yourself to become what I have become.~

A wave of shame rolled over her.  She wanted so hard to do what her father would have wanted, to make him proud, even though she knew he would never know what she was doing.  Why then, when the answer was so clean and simple, did she feel so hurt by the idea of leaving her human friends?  She knew already that she would have to keep away from them, lest they get mixed up in the battle again.  But when all of that was over, what could she do?  Return to her life pretending to be human?  Or follow the fire that had been lit within her, the fire that was leading her away from the humans?

She looked back up at the moon.  So beautiful.  So majestic.  So… him.

She sighed.

_~I have much work to do.~_


	10. Taro's Foolishness

**Chapter Ten:**

**Taro's Foolishness**

"You didn't even scratch her?!" Taro, the oldest of the kitsune brothers, exclaimed angrily.  Jiro and Manzo, the twin middle siblings, looked away from their brother, both sporting bumps on their heads.

"First Shiro lets the female defeat him with doku, and then you two can't even touch her!  How can one mesuinu be so hard to beat?!"

"Taro," Shiro, the youngest, spoke up.  "You know yourself she's a taiyoukai.  She's very powerful."

"I don't care if she's a taiyoukai or not.  She's a mesuinu, and it is our job to exterminate her.  Is that concept so hard to grasp?"

He glared icicles at his brothers, who shuddered at the wrath of their older sibling.

"If you three are such wimps, then I will take her out myself," Taro hissed.  He drew a katana from his side and held it in front of him.  "And when I kill her, you will know the difference between being a taiyoukai, and having raw power."

*          *          *

Takara was down in her basement going through a chest full of clothes when she heard a knock on her front door.  Sniffing the air, she recognized Miyo's scent, and climbed up the stairs to let her in.

"Miyo-chan," she said guardedly.  "Why have you come by yourself?  It's dangerous."

"You haven't been in school," the girl accused.  Takara moved to the side and let her enter the cabin.

"I have been busy," she told her.  Miyo looked up and down Takara's Feudal Era outfit, the clothes she had been wearing ever since the attacks had started.

"That's pretty," she complimented.  "Where did you get it?"

"Otousan had it made for me shortly before he was killed.  I have been going through the old clothing I have, and seeing what is still in good shape.  I prefer to wear the clothing of that time."

As they talked, they walked back to the door that led to the basement, and they began to descend.

"That time sounds dangerous," Miyo observed.  "I'm glad I live when I do now."

"Of course.  This is the age of ninjen.  The few youkai that are left are in hiding, disguised as ninjen.  You have nothing to fear in your time."

They approached the chest Takara had been going through, and Miyo spotted something.

"Hey, what's that?" she asked, pointing at a piece of white and red material.  "It's pretty."

Takara looked at what she was referring to, and immediately masked the emotions she felt.

"That is my otousan's clothing.  He wore it whenever he scouted his lands.  It was what he always fought in.  It was what he died in."

Carefully, Takara lifted the elegant outfit from the chest and unfolded it.  The material was worn and old, and the white areas were stained with blood from Sesshoumaru's last battle.  Here and there was a rip, but despite the aging and the stains, it was still remarkably in tact.  In fact, with a little care, it would even be wearable again.

Suddenly, Takara had an intriguing idea.  She refolded the material with great care, and set it aside where she would see it later.

"What is in all of these chests?" Miyo asked.

"Many things.  Mostly clothing, but other things as well.  Some scrolls."

Miyo looked confused.  "Scrolls?"

Takara was about to explain, when her senses picked up the presence of a youkai.  It was near.  Very near.

"Miyo-chan, stay here," Takara ordered.  "I must tend to something."

In a flash she had left the basement, and exited her cabin.  Standing just outside of her barrier was another kitsune, one who looked older than the other three she had seen.  Her eyes narrowed, and she showed her fangs as he unsheathed a katana and stood in a challenging stance.

"You dare challenge me, kitsune?" she said, almost amused.  "Your species must enjoy being beaten."

The kitsune growled back at her.  "You may have defeated my baka [stupid] otoutos, but do not underestimate me, mesuinu.  I, Taro, have trained under the best."

Before she knew what she was doing, a sly grin had made its way to her face.

"Then let us see just how good you paid attention to your trainers, Taro."

She leapt into the air and landed directly in front of him, tearing the front of his shirt open with her claws and leaving a thin line of blood on his chest.  He stumbled back, surprised, but quickly collected himself and swung his sword at her.

She leapt backwards, easily avoiding the blade.  ~I could easily make him succumb with doku as I have the others.  But that is too easy.~

From two fingers on Takara's right hand came an energy whip, another thing she had inherited from Sesshoumaru.  She swung it in a lazy circle over her head, and then snapped it at Taro.

The kitsune barely leapt out of the way in time, and was still distracted from the first attack that he completely missed the second one.  As quick as lightening, she snapped it towards him again, and the end of it wrapped around his sword, yanking it from his grasp.

Takara pulled back, and snatched the katana up with her left hand.  The whip disappeared.

"You kitsunes are really beginning to irritate me," she said.  "At first it was fun.  Now I'm just bored."

Taro looked at his empty hand, unable to believe he had lost his sword.  This was not going at all as he'd expected.  In a blur of movement his eyes couldn't track, Takara was suddenly right in front of him, and had her right hand around his neck.  She lifted him up to eye level, and looked him straight in his blue eyes.

"It appears my training was a bit more complete than yours," she said.  "Either that, or the mighty kitsune isn't as great as he thought he was."

Taro growled, struggling in her grasp.  "You are a coward, mesuinu."

Her look turned to pure ice.  "What. Did. You. Say?"

"You heard me," he spat.  "You are a coward.  You defeated all three of my otoutos, but let them live, just as you will let me live.  You can't kill.  You've become too ninjen."

Her eyes burned red with fury at his accusation.

"We shall see," she whispered.  Her hand radiated green, and then she sunk her claws into his neck, poisoning him.  Within moments his eyes were lifeless, and his body hung from her hand like a rag doll.

She walked into the forest, and once she was a good distance from her home, she dropped the body by a tree and laid the katana by his side.  The red in her eyes dimmed, and she took to the air, arriving back at her cabin in seconds.

The moment she walked in and saw Miyo standing in her living room, she knew the human had seen everything.  She didn't attempt to explain her actions; after all, Miyo was only a human.  Why should a youkai have to explain her actions to a mere mortal?

Miyo stared at Takara's hand, and the youkai looked down to see what she was looking at.  Her claws were stained with blood, evidence of the deed she had just done.

"Go home, Miyo," she ordered, and began to walk away.

"No," came the reply.  Takara stopped, and turned around.  Tears were running down Miyo's face, and she looked right into the eyes of her friend.

"Takara-chan…"

"Go home.  You have seen what I am; you have no reason to stay with me.  Go back to your own people."

"Takara-chan, you are my people."

"No!" Takara said forcefully.  "You are a ninjen; I am a youkai.  We are completely different species.  This body you see isn't even my true form.  Go back to your family, your civilization, and let me be a youkai."

The tears flowed harder down Miyo's cheeks.  "What has happened to you, Takara-chan?  I'm your friend."

"That is why you must go!" Takara's voice was stern, but her eyes had begun to soften.  "Don't you understand?  This forest is not safe for you.  It will not be safe until Michiomaru has been dealt with.  Until then, you must stay with your own people."

~I don't want you to see me kill again,~ Takara added silently.  She watched as Miyo wiped her eyes, and turned towards the door.

"Will I see you again?" she asked.  Takara looked away.

"If I defeat him, I will come to you when it is safe," the youkai promised.  "If I defeat him."

Miyo nodded, and walked towards the door.  Opening it, she hesitated one last time.

"Goodbye, Takara-chan."

Takara said nothing as her friend closed the door behind her, and walked away.

* * *

A/N – Special thanks to Niamh for pointing out a typo in this chapter!


	11. Son of a Youkai and a Ninjen

**Chapter Eleven:**

**Son of a Youkai and a Ninjen**

Ten miles deeper in the forest, a small cabin sat amongst the trees.  In it lived a single lonely person who rarely left the confines of the home, except for a weekly journey into a small town to buy food.

Its inhabitant looked to be about thirty years old, but he was in fact over four hundred.  His hair was long and white, and was kept back in a high ponytail except for a piece on each side of his head that hung down by his face.  His bangs were separate down the middle, and atop his head were two soft white dog ears.  His eyes were gold, and his face usually wore an aggravated expression, though he'd learned to control himself over the years.  In his home, he wore a Feudal Era outfit, identical to the clothes his uncle had worn, except blue instead of red.  His uncle had been none other than Inuyasha, a practically famous hanyou with whom this man had spent many years of his life learning how to control his youkai blood, for he too was a hanyou.

How many years had he lived in seclusion, hiding his face from anyone who might recognize him?  Over a hundred, he knew that much.  After his father had been killed, he had finally felt safe, and had eventually settled and taken a human to be his mate.  But that was over a hundred years ago; his human mate had been dead for nearly a century.  He'd had no children, and now his only relation other than distant cousins was a sister he hadn't seen since she was just a child.  A sister that looked far too much like his father.

His father.  His hands unconsciously balled into fists.  The youkai who had brought him into being had never ceased to tell him how worthless he was.  As if it were his fault he had been born, and was a hanyou instead of a pure youkai.  As if he were to blame for the fact that his mother was a human.

Nothing he did was worth credit.  Nothing he said was worth hearing.  If he wanted his father to hear his opinion, it had to go through his mother.  He would only listen to her…

~Flashback~

"I don't see why I can't go with you."

"It is a matter between youkai," Sesshoumaru practically growled, as though he was insulted by the very idea of speaking to his son.

"I am a youkai!" The young man insisted.

"You are anything but a youkai.  There is a place for hanyous, and they must learn to stay there and not interfere with the work of a true youkai."

"Half of my blood is yours!"

Sesshoumaru turned and glared at him.  "And that was the greatest mistake I ever made.  You will never be a youkai, Inuyoshi.  At least my tanechigai's woman taught him his place – in the dirt.  You would do good to follow his example."

Furious, Inuyoshi struck at his father.  With twice his speed, Sesshoumaru grabbed his wrist and shoved him against the wall.  He went to strike him, when a new voice was heard from the doorway.

"No!  Inuyoshi!"

Sesshoumaru hesitated, and in an instant a human woman the height of his chin had made her way to the youkai lord's side, and was clinging to his arm.  She looked up at Sesshoumaru with hundreds of emotions shining in her eyes.

"Please don't hurt him, Sesshoumaru," she pleaded.  "Please let him go."

The youkai lord glared daggers at his son, before reluctantly letting go of him and stepping back.  The woman stood between them, frightened, but not enough to leave the two of them alone again.

Abruptly, Sesshoumaru turned.  "I leave in ten minutes, Rin.  I will meet you at the main entrance then."

He left, and she looked up at Inuyoshi.  The young man was breathing hard, fury shining in his eyes.  Gently, she touched his cheek.

"Pay no attention to him, Inuyoshi," she said.  "What he says doesn't matter."

"He hates me, okaasan," he spat.  "He absolutely despises me."

"He doesn't hate you, my son.  You just remind him so much of his tanechigai, Inuyasha.  He doesn't want you to be like him."

Inuyoshi didn't respond, and eventually Rin left the room.  He watched out the window as his father departed, and he clenched his teeth.

­~End Flashback~

Inuyoshi had heard that his father had been killed by a daija youkai.  That piece of information was quite possibly the best thing he'd ever heard.  No more criticism.  No more insults.  He could finally live in peace.

Sitting at home, he heard a knock on his door.  Confused as to whom it might be, he opened the door a crack and looked out.  On his doorstep stood a tall man with long black hair streaked with green, and green eyes.  A twisted dark green line ran vertically down his forehead.  He was a youkai.

"I am looking for a man named Inuyoshi," the stranger said.  Now the hanyou was both suspicious and confused.

"I am he," he responded carefully.

"I have a message to deliver for you," the man said.  Inuyoshi's brow creased.

"What is it?"

The stranger smiled.

"This."

A hand flew up to his face, and green poison seeped from his claws.  Inuyoshi reeled back, and suddenly felt his eyes begin to burn.  He yelled in pain, and stumbled backwards, blinded.  His nose told him something that had to be impossible – the poison was Sesshoumaru's poison.  He could recognize that smell anywhere.

Stumbling back from pain and blindness, Inuyoshi tripped and ended up on his knees.  The stranger entered his home, pulled back a clenched fist, and slammed it down on the hanyou's head, knocking him out cold.

Now Takara,_ the stranger thought, lifting the unconscious hanyou onto his shoulders.  _It is your move.


	12. The Beast Within the Hanyou

**Chapter Twelve:**

**The Beast Within the Hanyou**

Takara sat in her basement, working hard at patching up some clothing.  Suddenly, she froze; she could sense Michiomaru very near, and coming nearer.

Like a bolt of lightening, she raced to her front door, and arrived to see a note pinned to the door.  Her nose told her that Michiomaru had been there just moments earlier, but he was nowhere to be seen.  She closed the door and turned her attention to the letter, her eyes first narrowing and then widening in horror as she read.

"My Beautiful Takara,

I apologize for not returning to you sooner, my dear mesuinu.  I have a guest in my home who I would like you to meet.  I believe you know him – he has the same blood you have, though half of it is ninjen.  Is the name Inuyoshi familiar?

You should be able to find me from the scent on this paper; I have faith in your powers, dearest Takara.  I would be very disappointed if you didn't come to meet this hanyou; in fact, I may have to kill him if you don't.  I look forward to your visit, mesuinu.

Your Admirer

The note crumpled as she clenched her fist, and her eyes burned red.

"Michiomaru."

*          *          *

Inuyoshi groaned as he awoke, and found himself lying on a slab of rock.  His wrists were tied above his head, and his ankles were similarly bound.

Looking around, he saw that he was in a cave, most likely somewhere in the forest.  Panic seized him, and he started to pull frantically at the bonds that held him down.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

A dark figure stepped into his line of sight.  He recognized him as the youkai who had come to his door; suddenly, he remembered what had happened.

"What do you want with me?" Inuyoshi growled.  The stranger smiled, revealing long fangs.

"It is not you I want, hanyou," he replied.  "You are merely bait for my true target.  After all, what use does a youkai have with a hanyou?"

A deep growl started back in Inuyoshi's throat, and his eyes narrowed.  "And who do you think you can lure here with me?  I know no one of any interest to a youkai."

"It is not someone you know, hanyou; rather, someone you once knew, and share blood with, though she has the blood of a full youkai."

The inu's eyes widened.  "My imouto [younger sister]."

"She has already been alerted of your current situation.  If she is a good imouto, she will come for you.  If she isn't…" he grinned. "Then you die."

He chuckled as the hanyou began to struggle with his bonds again.  "It is useless to fight them; they are special youkai bonds.  You will only wear yourself out."

Inuyoshi pulled one more time, and then was still again, breathing hard.  "What do you want with her?"

"We have some unfinished business."

At that moment a koumori youkai entered the cave, his purple eyes glaring into the hanyou's gold eyes.  The daija youkai, as Inuyoshi could now tell, turned towards the newcomer, and then looked back at the inu.

"I'm afraid I have business elsewhere to attend to, hanyou," he said.  "But Kentaro will keep you company.  I'm sure the two of you will make friends."

"Is she on her way, Michiomaru-sama?" the koumori asked.

"The note has been delivered, if that is what you're asking.  Whether or not she comes depends on her feelings towards her hanyou tanechigai.  If she is not here by midnight, you may kill him.  But not a minute before, understand?"

Kentaro bowed his head slightly.  "As you wish, Michiomaru-sama."

Michiomaru departed, and Kentaro smirked at his prisoner.

"So you are the eldest child of the great Sesshoumaru-sama," he said, walking up closer to examine the hanyou.  "It's rather ironic, don't you think?  Sesshoumaru spent his life despising ninjen, yet his first mate was one.  And his only son is exactly like his tanechigai – a worthless hanyou."

A low growl came from deep in Inuyoshi's throat.  "Considering the heartless animalistic nature of the youkai I've met, I'm proud to be a hanyou.  At least I have some feelings and civilization in me."

Kentaro struck Inuyoshi, leaving red claw marks across his face.  The hanyou didn't cry out, just clenched his teeth and glared at the youkai before him, his growl becoming slightly louder.  Kentaro couldn't see, but Inuyoshi's claws were beginning to get longer, as well as his fangs.

"Remember who is in charge of your life right now, worthless hanyou," Kentaro hissed.  "I cannot kill you yet, but that doesn't mean I can't beat you senseless."

"Just try it," Inuyoshi growled.  Purple stripes formed on his face, one curving upward under his right eye, and the other curving down on his left cheek.  Kentaro's eyes widened at the sight of the stripes, and he stepped back.

"What the…"

Suddenly, there was a deafening explosion at the entrance to the cave.  The rocks collapsed, and within seconds, the entrance was completely caved in.  Dust swirled around them, and smaller rocks fell closer to where they were.

A second later the caved in entrance exploded again, sending large rocks hurdling towards Kentaro and his prisoner.  The koumori youkai dropped close to the ground as the boulders flew over him.

In the cave entrance stood a tall figure with long hair ruffling in the wind.  As the dust settled, Kentaro could see red eyes shining down at him.

"The mesuinu…" he gasped.  He scrambled to his feet and drew a sword.

Takara's body began to radiate green, and she raised her right hand towards Kentaro.

"Taste my doku, koumori," she whispered, and suddenly the toxic glow around her body centralized in her right hand.

"Grrrraaaaaaaaar!"

Inuyoshi tore away from his bonds and leapt to his feet, his transformation complete.  His eyes burned red, his senses overwhelmingly sharp for a hanyou.  But he was no longer a hanyou.  Growled loudly, his head jerked towards Kentaro.

"Impossible…" the youkai whispered.  "Your scent…it is that of a pure youkai!"

Inuyoshi stepped forward towards the koumori, his shoulders hunched and his frighteningly long claws extended.

"Worthless rodent!" he screamed in a voice that wasn't his own, and then launched himself at Kentaro.  Takara watched, shocked, as the transformed hanyou ripped the screaming youkai apart with his claws.  She had heard about how a hanyou's youkai blood could take over if the hanyou was in great danger, but she had never seen it happen before.

Within moments Inuyoshi stood over a bloody mess, blood staining not just his claws, but his hands as well.  Takara could sense that Kentaro was no longer alive.


	13. Inuyoshi's Inheritance

**Chapter Thirteen:**

**Inuyoshi's Inheritance**

"Inuyoshi," Takara said softly.  The transformed hanyou turned around quickly at the sound of her voice, and began to growl at her.

He's lost his senses, she thought.  He doesn't know who I am.

"Inuyoshi, control yourself," she commanded.  He answer, but instead launched himself at her.  She leapt straight up, and then landed behind him.

Quickly, she took hold of his arms, and shook him violently.  "Inuyoshi!  Snap out of it!  Now!"

A pure animal roar came from his mouth, and he struggled to break from her grasp.  She held his arms back with her right arm, grabbed his ponytail with her left hand, and then yanked his head backwards so he was practically laying against her.

"Let go of me!" he yelled.  She pulled his head back farther, and bit his dog ear.  He didn't even register that he felt pain; instead, he snapped his own teeth at her.

Both hands full, she bit him again, harder.  Blood trickled down into his white hair.

"Get a hold of yourself!" she commanded, speaking directly into his ear.  "You are a hanyou.  Your youkai blood is overwhelming your body.  You must get control."

He shook his head violently, growling and snapping his teeth.  Sensing that the transformation would not soon undo itself, she released his hair, and then punched him hard in the side of the head, knocking him out cold.  He slumped to the ground, taking her with him, as she still had a tight hold on his arms.  She fell onto his body, caught herself, and then stood, lifting him up.  Putting his arm around her shoulders, she wrapped her arm around his waist to steady him.  She was very strong, and could handle his weight easily.

Slowly, she exited the cave, and then cautiously took to the air, holding Inuyoshi tightly.

By the time they had reached Takara's cabin, Inuyoshi's claws and fangs had returned to normal, and the markings on his face had disappeared.  He was still unconscious, and she carried him to her spare bedroom, where she laid him on the bed.  She could see faint lines on his face where he had been scratched and the wounds had healed, and she quickly brought a rag and a bowl of water to the room.

Sitting on the bed beside him, she wiped his face with the wet rag, cleaning off the blood.  She cleaned the blood from his ear where she'd bit him, and then cleaned Kentaro's blood from his claws.  She examined him for any other wounds, and then, satisfied, she left him alone.

After scribbling a quick note, Takara left her cabin and flew back to the partially destroyed cave.  The entire area now reeked of death and blood, making her slightly nauseous.  She deposited the note quickly, and then flew back to her cabin.

Around midnight, Michiomaru returned to the cave, and recoiled at the sight and smell that greeted him.  His eyes narrowed dangerously as he spotted Kentaro's bloodied body lying in a heap, and then narrowed further when he saw the note.

Daija,

You underestimated my oniisan [older brother].  I have grown tired of this game you are playing.  I will meet you a mile further into the forest by the ancient willow tree that grows there this Saturday evening at sundown.  If you do not show up, I will consider your absence an act of forfeit, and will not accept any later challenges on the grounds that I have defeated you already.  Be punctual.

He crumpled the note, and his eyes flashed red.

"So, it is you who does the challenging now, mesuinu.  How…perfect."

*          *          *

Inuyoshi opened his eyes and groaned.  His head felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer.  Groaning again, he sat up.

"You are awake," a voice said.  He glanced over at the doorway and saw…Sesshoumaru?!

Momentary panic seized him, but then he saw golden highlights in the white hair.  Looking closer, he could see now that it wasn't Sesshoumaru.  It was a female for one thing; her baggy clothes hid her figure.  She also had black stripes on her neck, and no magenta stripes on her cheeks.  But other than that, the similarities between the girl and his father were far too numerous.

She must be my imouto, he realized.  He'd only ever seen his sister once when she was very young, and he didn't know her name.  But that's who it had to be; no one else could have such a striking resemblance to the youkai he hated so much.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.  She walked closer to him, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"My head hurts," he admitted.  He looked closely into her gold eyes.  "Are you…are you my imouto?"

She smiled.  "Yes, oniisan.  Yes, Inuyoshi.  I am your imouto.  My name is Takara."

Of course.  He struggled to keep the contempt from his face.  The name Takara meant "treasure"; she had been adored by their father.  His own name literally meant "dog adopted son".  Sesshoumaru had despised him so greatly he'd refused to even acknowledge that Inuyoshi was truly his son.

"Takara…imouto…what happened?"

"Aa [yes], you don't remember.  Your youkai blood transformed you; you killed the koumori.  You attacked me, but I knocked you out, and brought you back to my home."

Inuyoshi squeezed his eyes shut.  No!  He couldn't have!  He'd made a pledge to himself long ago that he would never take a life.  He would not let his fierce youkai blood control him.  He owned no weapons, and lived peacefully.  And now…

Now I have once again become what I tried so hard to forget, he thought bitterly.

"Who was that daija who kidnapped me?" he asked quietly.

"His name is Michiomaru, and he is the youkai who killed otousan so long ago.  He is now trying to kill me for sealing him up for two hundred years."

"Imouto," he began carefully.  "I cannot say I am sorry about otousan's death, for that would be a lie.  But I wish you luck in avenging the death.  I know he meant a lot more to you than he did to me."

Takara nodded, her face having taken its emotionless mask.  "You were not there when his inheritance was passed on."

"I didn't feel I needed to be.  He would have left nothing to me."

She shook her head in disagreement.  "Come with me, oniisan.  I have something to show you."

He stood, his headache beginning to go away.  He followed her to the door leading to her secret basement.

She lit the lantern, and began to walk towards the back of the huge room.  She soon felt that she was no longer being followed, and turned to see that Inuyoshi had stopped, and was staring at the three great paintings.  His eyes burned at the sight of Sesshoumaru, and he turned his gaze to one of the smaller paintings.  Instantly, his face softened, and he stepped closer towards the painting of the human woman, Rin.  His mother.

Timidly, he reached out a hand and gently touched the painting.  He had the same sad look in his eyes as Takara always had when she looked at her father's painting.

He loved her, she thought.  Silently, she walked back to him.

"I wish I could have met her," she said softly.

"I wish you could have too.  She was the kindest individual I have ever known.  Before you were born, she was the only being otousan loved."

They stood gazing at the painting for a moment, before Takara turned.  "Come."

Inuyoshi followed her deeper into the room, and stopped beside one of the smaller chests.  They knelt, and he could see writing on the front of the chest.  His eyes widened in surprise as he realized what it said.

"To Inuyoshi, First Born Son of Lord Sesshoumaru"

He was further surprised when he realized the writing was in Sesshoumaru's script.  Did he really set something aside for me? Inuyoshi thought.

"Go ahead," Takara said.  "I never opened it; I didn't think it would be right."

Shakily, he lifted the top of the chest.  Inside were two ancient scrolls, another painting of Rin, and two things that made them both gasp in surprise.

One was Toukijin, Sesshoumaru's deadly sword.

The other was Sesshoumaru's fur.


	14. Less of a Hanyou, More of a Youkai

**Chapter Fourteen:**

**Less of a Hanyou, More of a Youkai**

The two of them stared at those two items for nearly a full minute.  Takara had always wondered what had become of them; when she had transported all of the castle belongings to this basement, she had thought that they had just been misplaced.  Never in a million years would she have thought Sesshoumaru would have left his two most prized possessions to Inuyoshi, the son he'd claimed to hate so much.

Shakily, Inuyoshi lifted Toukijin out of the chest.  The sword was still as glorious as it had been, and he could feel the evil it possessed radiating from it.  This was the sword that had possessed its very maker upon completion, and after his death had been claimed by Sesshoumaru.  Inuyoshi was slightly surprised at his ability to touch it, and reasoned that Sesshoumaru must have put some type of seal on it to keep the evil from consuming him upon contact.  Its purpose was to destroy Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha's great sword.  The Toukijin itself thirsted for Inuyasha's blood.

Why Sesshoumaru would have left this wicked sword to his son in full knowledge that Inuyoshi pictured Inuyasha as more of a father figure than himself, they had no clue.  It would have been more logical to leave Toukijin to Takara, but she had received Tenseiga instead.

Inuyoshi set the sword aside.  He gently removed the ancient scrolls and the painting, and then ran his fingers through the great fur.  The fur that made Sesshoumaru's transformation into his true form possible.

It was rare, but sometimes when a youkai went from its true form into its humanoid form, a part of the true form stayed with it.  In Sesshoumaru's case, it was a long, fluffy piece of fur that, in his true form, was a sort of mane around his neck and shoulders.  Without it, he would have been unable to transform, so he carried it with him everywhere, and kept it wrapped around his right shoulder, letting it hang behind him.  He was never seen without it, except while in his own castle, and then it was never far away.

Inuyoshi didn't remove the fur from the chest.  Instead, he withdrew his hand, and leaned over the chest so Takara couldn't see his face.  For a moment, nothing happened, and then, the youkai began to smell tears.

Takara wrapped her arms around her older brother and held him as he cried.  For a long time they sat there, sister and brother, wrapped up in each other's arms as tears ran down Inuyoshi's face and Takara's shirt.  Finally, after what seemed like hours, Inuyoshi looked back at the chest.

"Why?" he whispered.

"I don't know."

He wiped tears from his face.  "All the years I lived with him, every time I saw him, he always told me the same thing – I'm nothing but a worthless hanyou, and a hanyou will never amount to anything.  I'm not worth his time.  It would have been better if I hadn't been born.

"When I left and began to live with Inuyasha-sama I felt like I had finally found my family.  I only ever returned to otousan's castle once, and that was when you were just a pup.  When I found out he was dead, it was the happiest moment of my life.  I felt like I was finally free.

"He hated me, imouto.  He told me that every time I saw him.  But why… why after all of that, would he do this?"

Takara looked over at the painting on the wall of Sesshoumaru, standing tall and proud.  "Otousan did many unexplainable things in his life.  He pledged hatred towards humans, and then saved the life of your okaasan, Rin.  He fought Inuyasha every chance he got, but when Inuyasha's youkai blood took control, he refused to kill him.  It was as though all his life he wanted to be what others saw him as – cold, dark, and uncaring – yet some part of him was of his otousan – loving and kind.  That turned him into a rather confusing youkai, for he would slaughter a village, and then turn around and do a good deed.

"His 'hatred' for you, as you call it, was fueled by your likeness to Inuyasha.  But in the end, his heart won, and you ended up inheriting his most prized possessions.  He may never have shown it, but after your okaasan died, you were all he had left of her, and I know despite what he said, he loved you for her."

Inuyoshi didn't respond.  He lifted the fur from the chest, and stood.  He then wrapped it around his torso, going under his left arm and over his right shoulder, and letting the lower half hang behind his back.  He then picked up Toukijin and slid it into his belt.

He stood still for a moment, taking in the feeling of having a weapon by his side and the magnificent fur around his chest, and then walked over to stand before the painting.  He looked up at his great father, the father he had, until that very moment, despised with all of his heart.  And it was at that moment that Inuyoshi felt…whole.

He drew Toukijin, and cut the air with it, testing his long ago training with a sword.  The blade moved gracefully, and it felt as if it were a part of him instead of just a weapon, and though he could still feel the evil inside of it, he felt it become more submissive.  The fur around his body seemed to melt into his torso, making him feel less like he was carrying around something and more like it was an extension of his body.

"Inuyoshi," Takara said behind him.  He turned towards her, still holding the sword high in his hand.

"With those two things you no longer look like an ordinary hanyou," she told him.  "Now you look like a great youkai lord, ready to defend your lands from all intruders."

"I feel the same way," he replied, examining Toukijin as he turned it this way and that.  "I feel as if I have, in a way, become a pure youkai, though without the uncontrollable rage of when I transform."

"Maybe that is why otousan left you those things.  Maybe he knew."

Inuyoshi thought for a moment, before returning Toukijin to his belt.  He then looked back at the painting.  The great youkai lord stared back at him with hard golden eyes.

_Arigato, otousan, _he thought._  Arigato._


	15. Do I Know You?

**Chapter Fifteen:**

**Do I Know You?**

"Are you leaving?" Takara asked that evening, seeing Inuyoshi moving towards her door.

"I must return to my home," he replied.  "I don't want to burden you."

"Please, stay a little longer.  I would like you to meet someone before you go."

Inuyoshi looked outside at the moon, and then nodded.  "Alright.  I will stay one more day."

*          *          *

The next day, Takara departed in the afternoon and returned shortly with a young girl who, despite the hidden appearance, Inuyoshi could tell was part youkai.  Takara led the girl into her cabin, and she took off her hat, revealing dog ears that looked exactly like his, though black instead of white.  She removed colored contacts, and he suddenly found himself looking into slitted golden eyes.  Eyes that were very familiar.

Inuyoshi found himself on his knees before the girl, shocked beyond anything.  He looked up into her eyes and timidly touched her face with a clawed hand as if he couldn't believe she was really standing in front of him.

"What is your name?" he whispered.

"Rei," she responded, completely confused at the stranger's reaction to her.

"Rei," he repeated, completely taken by the girl.  Suddenly, he said, "You are of Inuyasha-sama's blood.  I can feel it in you."

Rei's eyes widened.  "Inuyasha…that was the name of my grandfather.  He was…"

"…a hanyou," Inuyoshi interrupted.  "I know."

"How do you…"

Inuyoshi pulled out his ponytail, letting his long white hair fall down his back.  He messed up his bangs, and then asked, "Did he look like this?"

She gasped, and knelt in front of him.  "You…you look exactly like him!"

"That's because Inuyasha-sama was my uncle, Rei."

"You…you knew my grandfather?"

"I spent most of my life living with him and his son, Kaori."

She gasped again.  "He is my otousan!"

Inuyoshi nodded.  "Yes, I know.  I had wondered for a long time what had happened to Kaori-kun.  I lost contact with him soon after Inuyasha-sama's death.  He was, in many ways, my oniisan."

Neither of them said anything else, and Inuyoshi looked up at Takara who had been standing off to the side the entire time.  "Did you know?" he asked.

"I suspected," she responded.  "Her likeness to him is remarkable, and when I asked her about his attacks, she gave me a very good description of the Sankon Tetsusou."

"How do you know Takara-sama?" Rei asked Inuyoshi.  He looked back at her.

"She is my tanechigai, Rei-chan," he replied.  "She was born of a different mother over a hundred years after I was."

Rei looked towards Takara.  "So you knew my grandfather too?"

"Not nearly as well as Inuyoshi did.  I only met him a few times."

"Rei-chan," Inuyoshi said suddenly.  "Can I meet your otousan?"

Her face suddenly fell, and she looked away from him.  "Sadly, that is impossible.  Otousan died last year of sickness, and left okaasan and I alone together."

"Iie [No]," Inuyoshi said quietly.  "Gomen ne [I'm sorry]."

"Okaasan and I get by alright.  She has a very small amount of youkai blood in her, though she doesn't know what type of youkai.  But now," She looked up at Takara and smiled.  "Now I have Takara-sama to teach me.  Will you stay and help her, Inuyoshi-sama?"

"I'm afraid I must return to my home," he responded.  His face grew serious.  "Rei-chan, no matter who teases you, and no matter who tries to hurt you or outcast you over what you are, remember this – you are a very rare and special creature.  You have the blood of both the ninjen and the youkai, and though the pure ninjen and the pure youkai will talk down at you, you have something both of them don't have.  You are a ninjen with great power and strength, and you are a youkai with true feelings and compassion.  Very few people have that, and that is what makes the hanyous and the demi-youkai so strong.  Our kind is very special, and I don't want you to let anyone make you think otherwise."

Takara didn't show it, but Inuyoshi's little speech moved her greatly.  It was true that she had barely any true feelings, though she pretended while with her human friends.  A true youkai was a cold creature, and an animal at times, while a true ninjen was weak and helpless against dangers.

~It may very well be,~ she thought as she watched Inuyoshi hug Rei close, ~that the hanyous and the demi-youkai are truly the most powerful of us all.  They may have weaknesses that pure youkai don't have, but they have strengths many would find unmatchable.  Eventually, they will be all that is left of us.~

*          *          *

The next morning, Inuyoshi departed, his sword at his side and his fur wrapped around his torso.  Takara watched as he disappeared into the forest, no longer the same angry hanyou he had been but now, in many ways, much more youkai.  He stood tall and regal, and she couldn't help thinking that Sesshoumaru would have been very proud of his son if he had seen him that morning.


	16. Showdown In The Forest

**Chapter Sixteen:**

**Showdown In The Forest**

Two days.

Takara had two days to prepare for her battle with Michiomaru.  She spent most of that time in her basement, working furiously on an old piece of clothing she was attempting to restore to a wearable condition.  She knew she should be practicing, but she felt that the smaller battles she had been through in the past days had been enough.  So she sat, and she worked, determined to complete her project.

Saturday arrived with a tight, impatient feeling around it.  As dusk approached, Takara flew to the site she had named.  There she waited, tall and proud, confident in her own abilities, yet at the same time, cautious, for even now she remembered watching Sesshoumaru fall before this daija she was about to fight.

And wouldn't Sesshoumaru have been proud of her.  She stood wearing his own white clothing with red print on the sleeves and left shoulder, completely restored after hundreds of years of storage.  It had barely needed altering, for she was nearly his height, and a bit thinner, with feminine proportions of course.  She had chosen not to wear his armor, for it had been a bit too big for her, and besides, she was a taiyoukai.  She didn't need any armor.  She did have the yellow and purple sash Sesshoumaru had used to tie his armor on, for the outfit didn't feel complete without it.

At her side was Tenseiga, thought she doubted she would use it.  Beside it, in the place Toukijin would have occupied, was another katana, a special sword Sesshoumaru had made for her in an attempt to copy the Tetsusaiga.  It was the Tetsutouga, and, just like Tetsusaiga, it had been created out of her father's own fang.

Takara watched as the sun's golden rays sank beneath the horizon, wondering to herself, ~Will he come?  Will he accept my challenge?~  It was beginning to get late.  The last rays of light disappeared, and she saw the first star twinkle.

~Cowardly daija~, she thought.  She leaned against the trunk of the tree she was standing in, and then straightened up and prepared to depart.

As the muscles in her legs tensed to jump, she suddenly froze, her ears being the only part of her body that moved.  Quietly, she inhaled deeply through her nose.  A small smile formed on her face.

She waited, her energy coiled up like a spring about to pop.  Then, the muscles in her legs fired, and she shot straight into the air spinning, her hair flying wildly about her.  She stopped at the tops of the trees and looked down at the daija youkai who had very cleverly attempted – and failed – to sneak up on her from behind.

Takara landed softly in the forest clearing, and Michiomaru stood farther in the trees, hidden partially in shadows.  She could see his narrow green eyes shining in the darkness, and they glittered as he took note of what she was wearing.

"How very clever," he hissed.  "You intend to not only defeat me, but avenge your senpu's [deceased father] death as well.  Tell me, mesuinu – how long did it take to get the blood out of that white cloth?"

"Do not attempt to provoke me, Michiomaru," she responded.  "I, Takara, am of noble blood; your attempts at stirring emotions within me are merely insulting."

His fangs glittered as he grinned.  "I can feel Sesshoumaru inside of me.  I can feel his strength, and his power.  I can even feel his cold mind stirring within my own.  His essence, his very soul is within me.  You cannot defeat your own senpu's power.  All that you have was inherited from him, and I have all of that."

Her golden eyes narrowed.  "That's where you're wrong, daija."

Takara held her right hand up, palm out, towards him.  She then quickly twisted her wrist, and the trees at either side of Michiomaru violently tore apart.  He leapt away quickly, avoiding the destruction.

"You have my otousan's strengths and powers," she spoke.  "But you do not have my taiyoukai okaasan in you.  And she had powers you will never achieve."

She swung her arm around, and every tree she pointed at was uprooted and torn apart, leaving a massive scar of destroyed forest.  But every time it came close to him, Michiomaru leapt away, and remained unharmed.

Suddenly, he moved faster than she could see, and within a split second he was standing behind her.  He raised his hand and held out his index and middle fingers, and from them appeared a long energy whip.  He twirled it around his head, and then snapped it at Takara.

The whip hit her ankle, and she began to stumble, but turned the fall into a leap and landed facing him.  She then created her own energy whip, and the two identical whips clashed together, astounding quantities of light coming from where the two whips hit each other.

Michiomaru held up his other hand, and a blue glow emitted from it.  He flung his hand out towards her, and a pulse of energy shot out.  Takara saw it at the last minute and dodged, but it hit her left shoulder, forcing her backwards and momentarily distracting her.  Her whip disappeared, and his began to make a wide circle around his body.  She leapt back as he struck her with it again, and realized that the pulse of energy had left her left arm numb and unresponsive.  She could no longer feel it, nor could she move it.

"It looks like you'll be taking after your one-armed senpu in more ways than you think," Michiomaru goaded.  "Shall I cut the arm off now, or would you like to wait until the energy dissolves it painfully?"

Takara glared at him, and drew Tetsutouga.  "Allow me to introduce you to my otousan's fang, Michiomaru."

The sword didn't have any transformation, for it was magnificent enough on its own.  She blocked the whip with it, as well as another pulse of energy, before slicing through the air with it, sending a rush of power surging towards him.  Michiomaru was thrown backwards, and the next time he looked up at her, his eyes were red.

"My Tetsutouga has an ultimate attack as well," she informed him.  "You will not enjoy it."

He held up both hands, palms towards her.  "You will not have the chance to use your ultimate attack, mesuinu."

From his fingertips flew blades of wind. The circled around her, and then came in from every direction.  She managed to block most of it with her sword, but her limp left arm and her right side received a few nasty gashes.  The white material of her clothing soon began to turn red with her blood.  A split second after that attack, Michiomaru was right in front of her, attacking her with his claws.  She leapt backwards, and then stumbled.

~His attacks have injured me worse than I first assumed,~ she thought.  ~At this rate he will soon triumph if something is not done quickly.  It is time to allow Tetsutouga to show its full power.~

Takara raised Tetsutouga above her head, and wind began to swirl around her...


	17. Partnership of Tenseiga and Tetsutouga

**Chapter Seventeen:**

**Partnership of Tenseiga and Tetsutouga**

Wind began to swirl around Takara and the sword.  The wind grew more and more fierce, tossing her long white and gold hair around her face.

When she felt it was time, she started to call out the ultimate attack of her sword, when suddenly the winds reversed on her.  With a cry she flew backwards, hit a tree, and fell to her knees.  Standing on the other side of the clearing, Michiomaru lowered his arms.

~He turned my own attack against me?~ she thought.  She attempted to stand, and a felt a jolt of pain.  ~I cannot go on much longer.~

Her golden eyes turned red, and she forced herself to her feet.  Summoning her strength, she prepared to transform into her true youkai form.

Suddenly, she felt a pulse at her waist.  Looking down, she realized the Tenseiga had come to life, and was beginning to pulse.

~What?  There is no death around here.  Why has Tenseiga awoken?~

She looked back at Michiomaru, and the sword continued to pulse.  Suddenly, she could hear his words echo in her ears.

{"His essence, his very soul is within me."}

~Every youkai he's ever defeated has had their essence absorbed into him,~ She thought. ~Their powers and strengths are in him.  Even their souls.~

Takara's eyes returned to gold.  She sheathed Tetsutouga, and then drew Tenseiga.  The sword pulsed in her hand, demanding to be used.  Nodding slightly, she knew she had to accept what the sword was telling her.

"You are nothing without the strengths of the youkai you have defeated," Takara told Michiomaru.  "You are a coward, calling upon the powers of others in order to win your own battles.  I shall fight you now, not them."

She ran towards him, and brought Tenseiga down in a large slash across his body.  Michiomaru stumbled backwards, and then cried out, falling to his knees.  

"No!" he cried.  His body began to glow brightly, and the glow intensified until it shot away from him in every direction.  Suddenly, Michiomaru transformed into his true youkai form – a giant snake.

"How pathetic," Takara spat.  "You are nothing but a low life daija youkai.  Without the souls of those you have defeated, you don't even have the power to sustain a humanoid form.  And to think, it was you who defeated the great Sesshoumaru, and nearly defeated me as well."

She returned Tenseiga to its sheath, and then once again drew Tetsutouga.  "You don't deserve to feel the true power of Tetsutouga, but because you have caused me so much trouble, I will let you feel it."

She once again raised the sword above her head, and the winds began to swirl around her.

"No!" Michiomaru bellowed.  "You cannot defeat me!  I am great!  I am Michiomaru, destroyer of all!  You will never defeat me!"

Takara felt the winds reach the correct power.

"Sankon Kaze!" she yelled, and brought the Tetsutouga down.  The winds turned into a horizontal tornado, and Takara heard Michiomaru cry out as he was torn apart by the Tetsutouga's full power.  The winds slowly died down, and nothing remained of the great daija that had caused so much trouble.

"It is over," she breathed.  She could feel her body already working to heal her left arm, which the energy had left lifeless.  She sheathed Tetsutouga, and turned to go.

"Takara…"

Her ears twitched, and her eyes widened slightly.  Spinning her head this way and that, she looking for the source of the voice.  She was alone.  A gentle wind ruffled her hair from behind, and she heard the voice a second time.

"Takara…"

With a trembling voice, she replied, "Who's there?"

The voice was silent, and the wind began to die down again.  She looked down at the healing sword at her side, and she remembered what she had done.  Tenseiga had released the souls Michiomaru held in his body.  But Tenseiga was a healing sword that brought life.

Takara gasped.

_"Otousan!"_


	18. Endings and New Beginnings

**Chapter Eighteen:**

**Endings and New Beginnings**

Miyo heard a knock on her door, and rose to answer it.  Standing outside of her front door was Takara, her human guise up.

"Takara-chan!" she exclaimed.

"Hello, Miyo-chan," Takara replied.

"Has everything been resolved?"

Takara nodded solemnly.  "I have come to tell you that I will no longer be here.  There is an important matter I must take care of elsewhere.  I don't know how long I will be gone."

Miyo's face fell.  "So…will I ever see you again, Takara-chan?"

"I do not know."  She was silent for a moment.  "Can you please tell Makoto-kun?  I don't have time to go to his house as well."

"Of course, Takara-chan," Miyo said softly.  Takara hugged her friend.

"Do not worry, Miyo-chan.  No matter how long it takes, I will return to you.  I promise."

Miyo nodded, and then forced a smile.  "Good luck.  Whatever you're doing."

Takara returned the smile.  "Arigato.  I must depart now."

She turned, and Miyo saw a younger girl wearing a hat behind her before closing the door with a sigh.

"Come, Rei-chan," Takara said.  "It is time to go."

The younger demi-youkai nearly skipped from the excitement at being asked to accompany Takara on her journey.

"Where are we going, Takara-sama?" Rei asked.  Takara looked straight ahead and answered,

"To find my otousan."

* * *

A/N – Yes, that is the end.  I know, I know, I'm horrible.  But wait!  There is a sequel coming!  So keep an eye out, and I'll probably add a note here when I get it going.

            Thank you thank you thank you to all of my reviewers!  I realize that this wasn't your typical story; not many fans enjoy reading a fanfic that doesn't have any show characters in it.  I promise the sequel will; you can probably guess who ;)

I realized that I didn't do a disclaimer in the beginning, so I'll do it now – Inuyasha doesn't belong to me, but everybody in this story does.  There you go.

Just keep an eye out for the sequel, and I promise it won't have an ending like this one!

MunkimaCL is signing off.


	19. Author's Note

A/N – This is a note to say that the sequel to this story is now up!  It is called "The Past That Was Lost", so look for it!

Also, here are some definitions of certain words or names that didn't get defined during the story:

Michiomaru – "man with the strength of three thousand"

Kentaro (the bat youkai) – "big boy"

Rei (Inuyasha's granddaughter) – "polite, well behaved"

Miyo (Takara's human friend) – "beautiful generation"

Makoto (Takara's human friend) – "sincere"

Mio (Takara's mother) – "three times as strong"

Tetsutouga (Takara's sword) – "iron fighting fang"

Sankon Kaze (Tetsutouga's attack) – "Soul Shattering Wind"


End file.
